Wade Heating & Cooling has been Pittsburgh’s #1 best boiler repair service for 38 years. Our service technicians have extensive training with every type of HVAC boiler and heating repair service needed for the residential homes and commercial properties of Pittsburgh, North Hills, Souths Hills & West Hills communities. We are available 24/7 for emergency repairs. Call 412-787-1341 now!
Get $100 off instantly with our Priority Service Plan
Typical Boiler Repairs We Perform & Malfunctions We Resolve
Below is a list of our furnace repair services, please select which type of heating that is in your home. Not sure which type of furnace you have in your home? Get a service call by calling 412-787-1341 now.
- Fuel costs are rising causing a higher heating bill
- Consistent breakdowns
- Your building remains cold while
running your boiler - Strange sounds
- Foul smells
- Carbon monoxide smell due to leaking carbon monoxide
- Boiler broken parts
- System seal leaks
- Boiler has a yellow flame
- Flush out sediment buildup in the boiler water system
- Broken expansion tank
- Decrease in energy output
- Broken circulator pump
- Valve repair
- Fix the airlock
- Diaphragm repair
- Boiler replacement
- Fuel costs are rising causing a higher heating bill
- Consistent breakdowns
- Your building remains cold while
running your boiler - Strange sounds
- Foul smells
- Carbon monoxide smell due to leaking carbon monoxide
- Boiler broken parts
- System seal leaks
- Boiler has a yellow flame
- Flush out sediment buildup in the boiler water system
- Broken expansion tank
- Decrease in energy output
- Broken circulator pump
- Valve repair
- Fix the airlock
- Diaphragm repair
- Boiler replacement
Rest Assured – We Are Trained in All Makes & Models
We repair all makes and models of gas/oil furnaces, boilers, ductless mini-splits, and geothermal heat pumps*.
*We provide service for geothermal systems we have installed.
Trust Wade with Your Boiler Repair
Our service technicians will arrive promptly at the time of your appointment to fix your boiler problems and restore your home heating to a state of comfort once again. Our service experts will also provide you with boiler repair tips to help you prevent further heating issues in the future.
If you need an emergency boiler heating system repair for your home or business, call 412-787-1341 now! We provide 24-hour home boiler repair services and commercial boiler heating repair services.
Boiler Energy Efficiency
Annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE), is the measurement of your boiler’s efficiency if it is below 300,000 BTUH of input. The AFUE is a standardized system rating that is enforced by The Federal Trade Commission. It is the ratio of total annual fossil fuel energy to the annual heat output for your boiler. New boilers must show the AFUE for property owners to compare the heating efficiencies of different available boiler models. An AFUE rating of 90% means that 90% of your energy used in the fuel becomes heating for a home or building.
Even if you purchased a high-efficiency boiler system, some factors can reduce the system’s AFUE rating that will need to be addressed to restore the boiler to optimal energy usage. When you schedule a diagnostic check with our boiler service technicians, they will review the following factors to determine how to restore your boiler’s energy efficiency to an optimal state of functioning.
Thermal Efficiency
There are many factors that can cause the thermal efficiency rating to be low in energy output on a boiler system. Particularly water scaling and soot buildup on the boiler tubes. If the heat-exchanging surfaces are in poor condition, then less heat is transferred from the combustion gases into the water. As a result, the boiler operates less efficiently.
The thermal efficiency can be poorly impacted by many factors, especially due to soot buildup on the boiler system tubes and from water scaling. If the surfaces where the heat exchanges have become structurally degraded, this will cause less heat to be transferred into the water from your boiler’s combustion gases.
Efficiency Combustion
The primary factors that indicate combustion efficiency are stack temperature and flue gas oxygen. If these fall below the desired range, then we suggest looking at these indicators and adjust as needed.
Even more so, we recommend that you be sure to monitor the flue gas composition to ensure excess air is at optimum levels. Excess air is part of the reason for the loss of heat, but it is also crucial for your system to burn all of the fuel it is using.
A sign of excess air in your boiler can be soot, smoke, and unburned combustibles like fuel. The rising flow of gas from the flue demonstrates that there is too much of it not being used inefficiently.
Seasonal Boiler Efficiency
Changing seasons create ambient air circumstances like humidity, density, air temperature, and more. These circumstances cause big changes to occur in the operation of your boiler system’s heat burner. Burners are tuned to a specific level of the air properties at the current time of year they were last serviced.
You can find the seasonal efficiency by comparing the total output of the seasonal heat used by your home or commercial property to the total input of your seasonal fuel. This data will inform you how much can expect to pay on fuel during the warmer season.
The overall-season efficiency is affected by cycling losses and the steady-state efficiency of your boiler system. If your boiler is running for prolonged periods it will lead to a higher seasonal efficiency. Every time you turn the boiler off and on again, you’re creating cycling and downtime losses that lead to a reduction in the seasonal efficiency. This is important to consider when manually manipulating your thermostat allowing the automatic readings of the system to determine the ideal operating settings.
If there is a major season change occurring that will cause a significant shift in the temperature, then you will want to be sure to have your boiler serviced. This should be done twice a year in the fall and in the springtime. To help with this, we offer Priority Service Plans to ensure your system service schedule is always kept up with by one of our boiler repair service professionals and at a lower rate than the cost of a one-off service call. Learn about all the benefits and Sign Up today!
What does the color of the burner flame in my boiler mean?
You can learn a lot from the flame’s color in the burner of your boiler heating system. The color of the boiler flame indicates how hot the gas is burning and how well the fuel is being combusted. Here is a list of the meanings of different flame colors.
Blue Flame
All alkane gases burn with a blue flame at maximum combustion. Alkane gases include hydrocarbons like butane, ethane, propane, and methane. In some cases, a blue flame can indicate that a gas contains some level of copper in it. Most gas boilers use natural gas (methane) or LPG (Propane) gas, both of which burn with a blue flame. A blue flame will occur in propane burning at 1980°C and natural gas that is burning at 1960°C.
Orange, Red, or Yellow Flame
When the burner flame is red, orange, or yellow in a propane or natural gas system it is an indication that the burning temperature is around 1000°C. This means the system fuel is not being burned entirely and requires calling 412-787-1341 for one of our professional boiler repair technicians to repair the issue immediately.
Boiler Troubleshooting Guide
Your boiler can make a lot of different noises, each with various possible causes. It is essential to be mindful of these sounds as they indicate if you have a system issue that needs to be addressed. Here is a list of the common types of noises you can hear from a boiler and what they can mean.
- Humming Noises
- Rumbling Noises
- Boiling Kettle Noises
- Rattling Noises
- Banging Noises
- Clicking Noises
- Gurgling or Dripping Sound
- Drone Sound
- Vibrating Noises
- Tapping Noises
- Unexplainable Noise
- High Pitch Noise
What noise do you hear?
Humming Noises
It is common for electric water heaters to produce humming sounds. A humming electric water heater can be easily fixed by tightening the heating element.
Humming can be caused due to your pump being set too high, which will cause the water to travel too fast. This can create many odd sounds, such as vibrations, humming, and trickling noises.
Humming could also be due to bearings in your boiler fan that are loose and will need to be readjusted. If you can’t find what is causing the humming sounds in your boiler system, call one of our boiler service repair technicians at 412-787-1341 to assist.
Rumbling Noises
A water heater making rumbling noises can be caused by bits of sediment, limescale, or rust heating up and expanding in the cylinder. Another cause of rumbling noises is high-pressure build-up in the system. If the water that flows through the boiler system has a pressure that is too high, you may hear humming or whining noises coming from the valves in your home. You will want to check the valves if this occurs and adjust the pressure as needed.
Boiling Kettle Noises
A boiling teapot, or boiling kettle, sound is most often caused by air trapped in the central heating system or due to kettling. To resolve this, try bleeding your radiators to get the excess air out.
If bleeding the radiators does not eliminate the boiling sound in your boiler, then it is possible kettling is the problem. As the name implies, kettling is the noise you hear when a tea kettle is whistling once the water starts to boil. This is caused by limescale accumulating or from debris build-up due to corrosion. This is something that happens naturally. Limescale build-up is caused by hard water and it can affect your heat exchanger and restrict water flow. This will cause the water in the system to heat to such a high temperature that it will boil and then turn into steam and expand, causing the boiling sound. This issue will require a service professional to resolve.
Rattling Noises
Loud rattling noises can often indicate an object that is shaking due to being loose or parts vibrating against each other. It is also possible that air has gotten inside the pipework. Bleeding the radiators will help to resolve excess air buildup in your boiler system. Read the guide for your system closely to determine how to bleed the radiators. Be sure to read how to repressurize the boiler system and do so after you have finished bleeding, as doing so can affect the system pressure.
Banging Noises
If you hear banging, popping sounds, or a combination of both – kettling is likely being caused due to sludge building up or from mineral deposits within the system. Kettling, explained in detail previously, often happens in older-cast iron heat exchanges as well as in areas with water that is prone to hard water.
A more severe cause of banging noises can be from large air bubbles popping within the system that sound like a loud bang reverberating through the system so loud that it will cause the boiler to shake. As terrifying as this noise can be, it gives no indication at all that the boiler will explode. These bubbles can also happen due to build-up in the system and require a professional to properly clean and service your boiler.
Clicking Noises
If air bubbles are trapped in the central heating system’s water, they can collapse and expand, creating a clicking or tapping noise. This is another issue often caused by kettling from hard water or debris build-up and will need to be cleaned by a professional.
Gurgling or Dripping Sound
If you hear dripping or a gurgling sound in the pipework or your radiators, it likely means air is trapped in the boiler system. You never want to have air in your boiler. Trapped air prevents heat from radiating sufficiently throughout your rooms. This causes the boiler system to run for longer periods and use excessive amounts of fuel to heat your home. Also, be sure to regularly bleed your radiators or do so when you hear odd noises to ensure you are getting maximum energy efficiency from your boiler heating system.
Another possibility to be aware of that can cause gurgling is if you have a frozen condensate pipe. If one of the pipes has frozen, immediately defrost the pipe to avoid damage to your boiler. First, you will want to locate the frozen blockage and defrost it by pouring hot, not boiling water on the pipe to thaw it. Alternatively, you could use a microwave heat pack, a hot water bottle, or a hot towel to thaw the pip out.
Drone Sound
Hearing what sounds like a robotic drone flying nearby, when there isn’t one being flown, is a sign that you have a boiler pump that needs replacing. This can be caused by the boiler impeller having a build-up of debris or from a pump having a mechanical failure. If part of your boiler system is broken, it can have a domino effect of other system parts failing in sequence. Call one of our boiler service engineers at 412-787-1341 to replace the pump for you. If the issue is severe enough, you may need to have your boiler replaced.
Vibrating Noises
If your boiler is making vibrations sounds, there are many possibilities of what the cause could be. Vibration sounds can be caused by system settings or by the shaking casing inside of a malfunctioning pump. Another possible cause is sludge building up inside your boiler, which can lead to your boiler system overheating. This will need to be addressed by a professional immediately.
Tapping Noises
A tapping sound is another indication of kettling, most notably when heard while turning the boiler on. If you have blockages in your boiler system due to kettling, you will want to contact a service professional to clean and service your boiler system to remove any sludge or debris that is causing the kettling.
Unexplainable Noises
If you can’t determine the noise from any of the listed sounds, a possibility is that you have an obstruction in your boiler system from an animal being stuck inside of it. The boiler is very hot, making it an inviting space for animals looking for warmth on a cold day. Be sure no creatures are trapped inside your boiler. If there is an animal stuck inside, carefully remove the creature, and then be sure it did not do any damage to the system.
High Pitch Noise
Hearing what sounds like bats or an unsettling violin performance from your boiler system is another likely sign that your system is kettling and will need to be cleaned by a boiler service professional.
Awards & Distinctions
As Seen on TV
